Social media and PR

Botagoz Baisugurova 20082105

Types of social media

Some research stats..

• 61% of PR specialists agreed that social media changed

the way their company communicates externally.

• 66% believe social media have enhanced public

relations

• 72% believe that social media compliments traditional

media (not conflicts with it)

• 89% think that social media influences traditional media

Donald K. Wright & Michelle D. Hinson, 2008

• Those who use blogs and social

networking sites as an outlet for civic

engagement are far more active in

traditional realms of political and

nonpolitical participation than are other

internet users. In addition, they are even

more active than those who do not use the

internet at all. (PEW Internet –9/09)

Facebook

• Events• Fan Pages• Groups• Personal Pages of Believers• Paid Advertisements• Causes

(USA) 307 006 550+ (EU) 492 387 344 = 799 393 894

Larger than total population of America and European Union

• 73% of U.S. online consumers have created a profile on Facebook

• 65% of U.S. online consumers are currently active on Facebook

• 42% of U.S. online consumers are FANS (use Facebook and have “liked” at least one company)

Twitter

• BREVITY: The “short and sweet” nature of tweets

facilitates quick and concise communication

• ACCESSIBILITY: Twitter provides unprecedented

access to individuals and brands

• INTERACTION: Brands are available for real-time

communication and timely responses

92.4% follow less than 100 people

So in what specific ways can you take advantage of Twitter for public relations?

1. Develop relationships with reporters, bloggers and other media people through Twitter. Reporters and big-time bloggers are incredibly active in social networks, especially when gathering information for stories.

2. Watch for tweets about editorial opportunities. When following bloggers and reporters on Twitter, keep close track of their tweets and scan for any opportunities.

Types of Tweets:

1. An Observation

2. What You’re Reading

3. What You’re Watching

4. What Events You’re Attending

5. Your Content

6. Someone Else’s Content

7. Chat With Someone

8. Retweet What Someone Else Has Tweeted

Following Don’ts:

Don’t follow too many people at once: Best practice is to follow no more than 25-50 people a day, because there will be a time gap between following people and when they follow you back.

Don’t follow hundreds of people at once and remove all who don’t follow you back: Although many people do this in order to have a valuable ratio (or more followers than people you‘re following), it is artificial network building and not a best practice.

The top three reasons people quit using Twitter?

• 52% found Twitter to be pointless• 38% said it got boring• 23% think Twitter is too chaotic

LinkedIn

LinkedIn

55 Million users that are primarily professionals with an average income in excess of 100k per annum

Focused on business and professional networking.

How to measure?

• Visitors counters• Numbers of links to your page from other

pages• Positive/negative comments

Summing up

• Be simple and open (easy to find)• Be accessible (follow buttons)• Interlink all your networks• Be useful and informative and interesting

(don’t be just promotional)• Interact with people as much as you can

(give feedback, engage into discussions, compliment them)